Stories from ‘Saturday Night Live’

Hello everyone, and welcome to a very special episode of Good Hang. You know, we have done 52 episodes. Deck of cards, baby, and it is time to celebrate. And we are gonna celebrate with a few clip shows that puts together some of our finest and most fun moments. And our first one this week is all of our SNL stories. So we have had cast members on here. We've had people who hosted.

And we've had a lot of people talk about their time on SNL, the good and the bad. And so we've grabbed some of them and put them together. And you're gonna hear from some amazing people. You're gonna hear from people like Maya Rudolph. Uh Seth Myers, Martin Short. Andy Sandberg, Tina Fay, Jack Black, Rachel Dratch, Kristen Wig, Anna Gas Tire. It's gonna be incredible. And we are gonna start this episode with someone who worked behind the scenes, someone who was

And is still the most incredible photographer who took all the pictures of your favorite people and and they are their favorite photographs. And just recently her new book. The Art of the SNL portrait has come out. Mary Ellen Matthews is joining us. And let's get the skinny about what it takes to work at that crazy place. Mary Ellen, hello? This episode of Good Hang is presented by Uber Eats. Big news. Aldi is now on Uber Eats, and you get 20% off your first grocery order with code NUALDI26.

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Hi, honey. This is I'm so I'm so thrilled to be here. Like never in my wildest dreams. This is so this is amazing. Are you kidding me? I'm so you know, so we're like doing a our Of all the SNL peeps that have come through. So many of them are in your book. The Art of the SNL portrait, your book? I'm so excited to see it in your little paws.

Tell everybody like what your job what does your job consist of? What does the week look like? Um, so uh we find out who's gonna be on the show like either the week before uh or a couple of weeks before before that, hopefully. And um And I just kind of have to come up with them ideas and talk to the stylist, talk to whoever's team team it is, because it's collaborative. It's between you and I. It's between whoever it is and myself. I I don't wanna drive

the vision just be what I want to do. So um, you know, try to include whoever it is. in those decisions. And also it's like, it's not about just doing these, you know, uh conceptual ones. It's just about, you know, you being you in this time and and and space. Because it's all you know, it's a documentary also about the about the time of you're doing the show and what's going on in the world. And it's so true. You're right. Like everyone has an era that they're in. Yeah, for sure. And

Um, like for instance, it was there was a blizzard happening, one in 2016. It was on at Saturday, Rhonda Rousey was on the show. So grabbed her between dress and air, threw her on a sled and just put her outside on 15th Street. So things like that, if you can really like nail it down to the actual minute that it's happening, is it's pretty special. That's cool. You want you want the pictures to feel like live, like part of a live show.

Uh I mean I wish I could do that more often, but you know, that's not no one else wants to do that but but me. Uh let's talk about Tom Broker. What does he do at the show and how do you guys work together? Tom is the costume designer. He designs all the costumes and the wardrobe for the entire show. And um for me w I work with him on on the photo shoot so

I f if um he styles the photo shoots if the person doesn't come with their own sty styling team. And if I have an idea of like an I want Amy to be in a um you know, seventeen seventeen uh a seventeenth century Dus ma Dutch masterpiece, you know. Of course that idea doesn't come till about 1.30 when when you're gonna step on set. So it's like, I'm like, Tom, you know, I'm so sorry this idea just came to me, but it happens way sometimes. But you know, so he has an archive and he's just a genius.

to know what to pull and know exactly how to make sense of this sort of, you know, wacky idea. Well, I'll I'll give a perf a a perfect personal example of what it's like working with Mary Ellen. So Mary Ellen's like, I have this idea where you have an apple on your head. You're balancing an apple on your head. Right. And I'm like, okay, cool.

And then props gets the apple. And then Tom's like, what are you thinking? And you're like, I thought maybe something like angelic. And I put this like kind of white dress on and it looks kind of culty. And you're like, that's cool, that's cool. And we're like, that's cool, that's cool. And then the apple goes in your head and someone's behind me.

holding the apple on my head and you're like, Don't worry, we'll, you know, we'll paint it out. We can paint out the hand so it looks like the apple's on the head. But then you're like, but it looks kind of cool with the creepy hand holding the apple. And that's a perfect example of like All of these things are happening in real time and The creativity part is the part you're getting the most excited about.

Hundred percent. And you know, it's like uh the I think who is it? Quincy I'm gonna have to I'm gonna quote Quincy Jones right now and said let's leave room for God when you walk into the studio because You don't know what's gonna happen. Mary Ellen, anyone that's worked with you, like your proof that if you're good at your job and you're wonderful to work with, like it should be easy. It shouldn't be hard. It shouldn't be torturous.

It, you know, everyone that has worked with you comes away with their their favorite pictures of themselves. Uh, that's so nice to hear. I mean true. And it's a collaborative thing. I've got so many great people working with me and um, you know, the styling goes into it in our prop department. you know, there uh I can I'll tell a funny story if you have time. Of course. Okay. Um so Paul Rudd was on with Paul McCartney and I thought of this at the very end. You know, we were all like, you know.

I couldn't, you know, he's watching the rehearsal. I'm like, you gotta come over here. We gotta get this done. And at the very end, I was like, we should make you into. a sixties version of Paul McCartney, the mop top. Uh-huh. Um, and so, you know, he's got to go on and do his rehearsals and whatnot. Um Speedy or Sir Speedy, who is who is, you know, the wonderful guy who the gentleman who takes care of all the bands equipments and all logistics.

He goes running down to like Chelsea guitar, gets like the left-handed bass for the for the Paul McCartney. Jody's doing the wig and Tom's pulling together this and we put it together. during meal break and he is like he nails this I could show you. Yes. He nails this I am I'm a small Paul McCartney. And it's one of my favorite Oh my god, I remember that picture. So uh listeners, it's a black and white picture of Rudd looking like Paul McCartney.

And it's this is Mary Ellen in a nutshell, which is like I have an idea and then everybody steps to it. It's a complete collaboration, like you said, and it looks incredible. And you can't ask that kind of get from people unless you know it's a good idea. Well, you took an amazing picture of Tina and I when we hosted where we were Simon and Garfunkel. There's a great behind the scenes picture in there, by the way, at the very end.

Um you two like laughing when you we were doing that. Well, everyone should check out the art of the SNL portrait. Mary Ellen Matthews, the best photographer around. Mary Ellen, everyone that has worked with you adores you. And Um, you are aging in reverse. Love you, Mary Ellen. Thank you so much for doing this and congrats again on your book. Yeah, I hope to see you soon, honey bunny. Okay, honey bunny. I'll see you soon. Thanks again. Bye.

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Thank you, Mary Allen. Thanks for getting on. It's so good to see you. And um let's get started with our show. Let's hear first from Maya Rudolph. One thing I wanted to bring up in that office was uh there was a cleaning lady. Um Rosa that worked in the in the on the seventeenth floor, teeny tiny lady. Very teeny. And um she had been there for a very long time. She had seen some shit. Yeah.

And uh there was a moment when would you tell the moment when we were in that office and Rosa came in? I think it was probably usually if we were in that office during the day,'cause we were there so much at night. we weren't keeping regular office hours, so th there weren't great times for people to come in and clean and change the trash cans out and stuff. And so it's probably a read through day, maybe like a Wednesday. And we were in there waiting for uh table read to start and um

D someone was definitely crying. I think I I think Emily might have been crying'cause her desk at in that office was close to the door and so she had her back to the door and she was talking to us about something that was Really hard. And we were also sleep deprived. And I just remember Rosa coming in and and she didn't speak very much English. Um But she saw what she always saw, which was she came in and she saw a few of us just sitting around talking to each other.

deep in conversation and Emily was crying and she put her sh uh hand on Emily's shoulder and she goes, Oh, don't cry sexy. Do you remember that? I love it so much. It was like it was yesterday. Don't cry sexy. Don't cry sexy. And uh highly recommend you say that to your friend when they're sad. It's really Just a little. Don't cry sexy. Don't cry sexy.

Um, do you want to tell everyone the first time you met Barack Obama and who you were dressed as? Yes. I would love to. Um the first time I met Barack Obama when he was running for office, I was dressed as Shirley McLean. And um And then the second time you saw him you were dressed as Barack Obama. Um yeah. It was a sketch that you were you and Daryl were Hillary and Bill Clinton at a Halloween party. Halloween party. And it was one of and I remember Barack was new on the scene. Mm-hmm.

Looking smooth. And uh and at that time I think like Barack Obama masks were popular, you know,'cause it was like the new candidate. And um so the joke was gonna be That I come in like wop wop I'm Barack Obama and then he taps me on the shoulder with his mask and takes mask off and everybody goes, Oh my God, it's the real Barack Obama. So we did that at dress.

And that was it. Yeah, he didn't do it. We did not do it at air. Thank God. Um why? Do we know why? I do. I mean, I did not have a take on Brock. So you know, I just remember you were you're a teeny you're you were a teeny tiny teen. Very tall and very fun and stressful to be dressed

Exactly like the person you're standing with. It is so much fun. And I remember the first time we saw each other was when we were about to walk out on stage. So at dress rehearsal there's like a little little flag there and door that's supposed to open. And I'm there waiting in my little Brooks Brother suit. And I think we like bound my boobs and I had um I used to play Scott Joplin and so I had my Scott Joplin wig on.

And I was standing there and then people don't know Maya has the cutest little tiniest little legs. From knee down. Just the knee. Knee down, it's like a little toothpick. Teeny tiny toothpick. Look at those little legs from knee down. So cute. Stretch.

Teeny tiny, teeny tiny. Just from the knee down. They're like like breakable, I think. I know, they're so little. So you had your little suit on. My little suit on and it was teeny tiny and then he came over. And here's the thing, I didn't It it was written then I didn't have a good impression like sort of like I'm Barack Obama and um So I was standing there, and then he came over and I said, Well, what do you think? And all he said to me was,

I don't wear a three button suit. Damn. I still don't know what that means. It's like it's like guy that's like a guy knowledge thing. Sounds like blurting to me. Just kidding. Um I'm not. I w I will take that. I've uh I've gotten two two tonight and I'm taking them home with me. I'm taking them into the spank bank tonight.

And you have a lot of female friends. I do. Great, like a great number of I count myself as one of them, women in your life who are your friend, who you're deeply uh uh uh uh tender to and very like uh you really like take care of us and you care about us and you like I mean you're the only you and Shoemaker are the only men they're ever allowed even close to a lot of the S and L women. We gather together as a group and just recently we let you sit with us for thirty minutes. Yeah.

And then we said I think it might have ni w maybe it was Tina, but Tina said thank you for coming and also thank you for leaving. Well, uh on the way there, I said, Seth, heads up, we're meeting and I think you have about a half an hour window. And you said, fine, I'll take that. And then we sat down at the steakhouse and you hung and then Tina said, And now it's time to go.

Yeah. Yeah. It was um can I point out my favorite observations about you guys as a group? Yes. You needed a second table uh for all your jackets. And every one of you had two totes. Yeah. And most of the meal. Again, I think if people saw the seven women that were there, they would be like, Oh my god. How funny was it? And I would say mostly they were looking through their toes. And at no point were less than two people looking through a tote.

Well yeah, because we had put it in the other tote. Comedy legends. Yeah. Rustling through tote. And it was like hand and it was a lot of hand me my tote and it was like, Is this my tote? A lot of matching totes. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think we had gotten some totes. Matching totes and puffy coats is how I would describe. It was I mean it was the S NL fiftieth week and it was very cold.

It was. But it also we were all dealing with like a lot of temperature. So our bodies, you know, we're of a certain age. We get hot and cold really fast. So it was a lot of putting on coats, taking off coats. It was a lot. And a lot of like, oh my, I'm so hot. And then taking the coat off and then handing it to you to put at the table. Every coat was louder than the next coat. Just when you moved the coat, it was uh like the sail of a schooner. Which are like

Very hard to hear any conversation due to the wrestling and Which is weird'cause we were shouting at each other. We do shout at each other across the table very loudly. Also Paula within Paul Pell, within like five seconds had set up a home office at a third table. She you're right. She went she got a third table because she had to do some rewrites. It was during the show week. Real time rewrites on S Not fiftieth. She was immediately had like a a laptop.

And also like a TV monitor. Yeah. Hooked up. There's also when we all go out, there's a ton of food panic. Yeah. When are we going to get our food? Who ordered what should we order? And we all fall into very specific categories about like how fast we should order and and there was a lot of talk about what you guys are gonna get and as soon as uh

the server came over, the minute they spoke, everybody forgot everything that had been agreed upon. Yeah. And uh'cause it went right back to square one. Yeah. And don't forget, you know, I'm a woman of a certain age. I need like eighty five grams of protein a day. So we were just like, how many steaks do we we need to get like forty steaks? They put us in

A private room where you could have a wedding. That's how big it was. Yeah, they knew what they were dealing with. And yet within like 10 minutes, I thought we might need a second. The sprawl. Well, luckily in 10 minutes we asked you to leave because it was enough time. It was so

It was so much you do that putting on and taking off coats. Sometimes I think of an SNL sketch just at the table. that for whatever reason stays with me forever. Do you remember Fred did a sketch once where he was someone At a dinner party who kept taking Awesome. Putting on his scarf. Yes. The longest scarf. It was a really long scarf. And he kept being like, oh my God, it's so hot. And he would take it off. And it was like, he had to like loop it around his head. And he had a practical scarf.

And he'd loop it around his head like ten times while everybody waited. And then he'd start telling a story. He's like, Oh my God, it gets so chilly. And then just looping I think about it all the time. Did it make it on air? No. No. And I but I can't I think about it all the time. Mm-hmm. Also, uh Fred I think Anilda was his do you remember his stenographer, Court stenographer character?

Oh yeah. And it was it had a name? I think his court stenographer had a name. I think Anilda. Anilda? I think. I'm not sure. Okay. Typed like this. Oh kind of a little bit like this. It was a lot like that. But also pause pause the trial a lot to look through her bag and just would say over and over, I can't find my chapstick. I can't find my chapstick.

I would say I don't see a scarf without thinking about the first one or hear somebody say chapstick without thinking about the second. So uh Fred Armison is like we talk about him all the time on here. Like he is truly like the funniest of the funny people, I think.

Fred can do these physical things, the slightest There is no one funnier than Fred. I agree. This is what Fred said to me at the end of it. Spread out for everyone. This is what first of all the well this is visual, but every his dressing room is beside. So I would pass his room and he'd be on his phone, I'd say, Hey Fred, and he'd go

See, Fred, you're not really asleep. Oh, I'm s oh hi, how long have you been here? Fred, I just saw you on the And the other thing he did, which she completely convinced me was true, was um When I left the stage after the goodnights, he said, Why did you call Paul McCartney Tony McCartney? I said, what? Yeah, I mean you said, oh, Tony McCartney. And because I didn't know Paul was standing beside me, I thought Did I?

And uh such a funny joke. Then I told Bill Hader this, and Bill told a friend, and Fred sent me a text like a couple days ago. Sorry, I'm so I thought you knew that was a joke. I literally thought I said Tony McCartney. The stupidest thing in the world. Tony McCartney. Tony McCartney. I wish I said it of course, you know.

Not knowing Paul's name. Fred used to send me long texts about his flight schedule, like when he was arriving, what airport, what time to get picked up as if I was picking him up from the airport. He is so deeply funny. He also does a bit that I love where if you haven't seen him for a long time at a party and you go, Hey, Freddy goes, Hi, how are you? Like he pretends you're just a fan bothering him. He's so funny. He loves a bit. He does. A million of them too, and everyone's funny. Yeah.

I mean, that's what's so funny about the stuff that we do is like nobody remembers the t ten to one versions of things that were just stinkers. Always. Crazy stuff. Stuff where I was mad that it would get cut. And then I would go back and be like, oh my God, there's nothing here. Like I was just running on fumes. Like why was I so mad? It was just cause like it was literally as much as like I exist too.

Like I wanna be on the show too. Emily Spybe and I wrote a scene one night that we thought was so funny, and it was just about these two giant um uh like uh trucks, like truck drivers who would come up next to each other and and keep telling the other one to honk it. Yeah.

And it was like honk it, honk it. And just telling the other one to honk it. And we were like, oh, we were dying. And we turned it in like, you know, 845 AM. And Shoemaker was like, we're not doing honk it. And we were like, what? And he's we already made t-shirts. He was like, we can't we can't produce honk it. We can't get two giant like you know you know we can't get two cabs and also like you guys we have we're like 35 sketches over and like you turn this in at 845 and it's like we were like

Justice for Honkett. Like we were still we were so mad. So just to be clear, you're not gonna let us read Honkett. Okay. Okay. Noted. Looking forward to having an employer that supports Honkit. Fucking noted. Looking forward in the future to working with someone who understands Honkit and what it means to us. Oh my god. The thing that made me laugh the hardest.

most recently was this clip of Bobby Moynihan from they did these really great SNL documentaries and it was uh a documentary about auditioning for SNL. and it was people and you were in it, you were great in it, and they talk to people about the process of auditioning and then they show them their audition back and people get emotional, people

f you know, they've never seen it or they oh my gosh, this is from fifty years ago or whatever. And they showed may made Bobby watch his audition back and he's doing a character that's in his audition that's just beyond inappropriate. And he's watching it and he's s he's watching it and he goes, Oh no. And then it just goes, oh Bob. The the way he says oh Bobby, the way he calls himself by name is so gentle and so f it made me laugh so hard and I I think it should be the TikTok sound.

that people play, like when you have to you have to see a piece of comedy that you're like, okay, we did we we realize now that that's not okay. You just show the content and just hear Bob hear the voice of Bobby going, Oh Bobby. And that's how you apologize for problematic content in the past. You just put the oh Bobby sound over it and it means I see it.

I'm sorry. Let's all move forward. I know better now. I know better now. I do better now. I'm an ally who makes mistakes. Oh Bobby. Oh Bobby. Oh Bobby. That really made me laugh. I couldn't stop watching it. You can make that get that audio. You should trademark that audio and get make merch. Well, you could have been a cast member. No, I don't think I could. I don't think I could handle it week in and week out. 100% disagree. Once every 20 years is more my speed for that gig.

But you could have I mean, did you ever audition or wanna audition?'Cause you I did want to audition, but then I didn't audition. I had an idea in mind that I never went and followed through with, but um You had what do you mean you had an idea? Well, I had I don't wanna repeat it because now it really sounds stupid in my mind, but uh my audition was gonna be basically I was gonna be a a superhero that I created. I don't remember what it was called, but it was like a combination of the Hulk and

Maybe it was just the Hulk. It was uh I was gonna come in as the Hulk and just jump around and do like this weird slow motion kind of performance art dance where I would crush things with my foot and then do a like a mimed, the earth is cracking. It was not I was not gonna get in and I knew that.

But I had practiced it in the mirror in my living room a few times, but I never pulled the trigger. You didn't? No. How come like did you get an audition and you just didn't do it or you d like it's I'm I'm fascinated by because Also I'm interested in that story because that is a little bit of sound.

Shh. Yeah. Maybe there was a party that didn't want to be on it. Well that's the constant uh uh battle is the fear of failure. Totally. Sometimes you're up for the battle and sometimes you're just like uh pass.

Um, okay, do you remember um uh Boys Night Out? Yes! Do you remember? The sketch that didn't make it on SNL when I was there with you. Yes, Emily Spivey and I wrote a sketch called Boys Night Out, and it was Jack waiting for the boys to arrive. And he n they never showed up and just kept ordering more wings. But there was a song, do you remember the song to it? Boys Night Outer. Boys Night Out. Now we're really rockin' and the chicks are rollin' squawkin' cause I'm talking ball a boys night out.

You never forget a song like that. Thank you so much. That's all I needed to hear. McDonald's är stolt sponsor av Melodifestivalten. Så tillåt oss att presentera ett av våra bidrag. Festivalmenyn, Star Cream Onion Company, 4 Pepper Chicken Strips och en Apple Pie för 99 kronor. Festivalmaten finns på McDonald's.

Do you remember the first scene on SNL that like you got were getting laughs and you thought like It's working. Like that v like felt like I remember the first cause I remember the first few times I got on, like I wasn't even I like left my body. This is going really well. I was just like, I'm on like that kind of thing. Yeah. Um but Well the first very first show I wasn't in. Like the

you know, season premiere, whatever. Right. And like you've told all your friends, like I'm on a s and like everyone's watching and your scene gets cut like it does. And then the next week the same thing happened. Scene got cut. So it was like the third week. Who was the host, do you remember? The one that I got on was uh I should know this. Oh my god. Well, I know the first one was Jerry Seinfeld, then it was Norm MacDonald, and then it was

And does not compute. Oh my god, I don't know. So you remember the two shows that you were on? Dana Carvey? I don't gonna have to go later. They're gonna do those three guys in a row. Let's what year was it, Draci? It was nineteen ninety nine, third episode. Okay, this'll be a fun game. Dana Carvey? Okay, I'm gonna and I'm gonna have you guess the musical guest because that's always fun too.

So 1999, I don't remember anything. No. 1999 SNL hosts. And don't worry, we're gonna keep all let me tell you one cool thing though. Let me tell I just heard that. Wait, let me tell you one cool thing though. Please. Please. Um the very first musical guest. Was David Bowie. And when I was, I've told this before, but when I was getting my photo taken for like the very first opening credits. Like it was on the stage, you know, like in eight eight.

And David Bowie was it was Thursday, he was rehearsing with the band. So like I'm getting my picture shaken. And he's right over there singing Rebel Rebel. I mean, I've chilled every time I think about that because that was just like I mean I don't even have words for like the surrealness.

That's a very um that's a like to have a soundtrack of that moment for your life and it's David Bowie playing. It's David Bowie, icon, yeah. So I remember that. Should we tell the black crow story? So one time so I don't do drugs at all.

Ha ha ha! So And then one time the black crows were the musical guests and um someone in the music department came up to me was like, Hey, do you want that's my drug offer voice. Hey, do you want Um whatever you call it. Joint. Not a joint, but just like a hit off a joint. I see. And I was I don't know, I've I've tried it a couple times. It's never really worked. I've never really dug it. And then I was like, okay, sure. So I

Took like one puff off of this black crow's am I gonna get sued? The black crow's pot. I took a hit off the black crow's pot. And my my cousin was visiting me, my cousin Zach, and um I came back to the table and I was like, Oh, I guess this is like I'm really high right now. And I was so embarrassed'cause like it was my little cousin. And I never, ever, ever get high. And then I came back and I was kinda like

I don't really remember if I told him or not. You oh he didn't but he might not have even I don't even know. But um that was my one like I remember you telling me you couldn't get up from your chair. Oh I don't remember that. But it's possible. It's possible. That you were kinda stuck. I was just like Really like. Anyway.

And that's why I don't do drugs. I mean No, I'm just not into that feeling, I guess. No, you're not into that feeling. Only if it's from the black crows. And then, yes. Chris, Chris Robinson, call me. Call me. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Um and then when you were at S N L, like I feel like we got i I I was thinking today about all the stuff we got to do together and we got to do a lot of dumb So fun. So fun stuff. Oh my gosh. Um You know, and I was thinking, it was like, n I I mean, in many ways I wish we had m I w I wish we had more time together when I was more experienced there because I was new and kind of stressed. And I felt like I loosened up more and figured out how to like just have more fun as as I got older there. Um

But we did get to do some fun stuff together. First of all, you were in the original Debbie Downer and that was so fun. I mean, just to be laughing there with you. Well, you bring this up and

You know, I ask this question to people on this podcast and I truly feel like it is because of Debbie Downer that I ask this question. Again, I owe you a lot of money. And thank you for thank you for building this podcast with me. Um but Debbie Downer, I've said it many times before, was and is the thing that I go to um

Uh also maybe now replaced by the clip. I watch the clip a lot of times. And I just wanna clarify. I don't go like watch my work. Like I don't go watch like a movie I did'cause like I just like to have it in my head. But that, it's like I said, it was like seeing your biggest crack up. Yes. And it's just like I c I have to laugh every time I watch it. Because it was the combination of

us all having fun. You Your like the way in which you were physically trying to hold it together, like the way like the laugh was like um something you were trying to hold in, combined with the zoom in.

And the sound effect. And we've watched it so many times. Like Emily Spivey knows every single sh This is the part where your lip starts quivering.'Cause there's one part where at the very beginning I'm going, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick and then there's the part where you something falls backstage and I look away. My high start over there. Like we know every single moment. It is. It's like the Zebruder film, like frame by frame. Yes. And it proves it just it got me it's such a serotonin boost.

Before we move on, tack talk to us about the or like who did you rank Debbie Downer with and how did it start? Uh like the origin. Oh okay. People will wanna know. So um Well, it really started'cause I went on a vacation by myself. So it had been suggested to me by a therapist. And I often leave that detail out. But since I'm on this one on one Amy interview.

No, I've said it like once or twice, but usually I leave that part out for the masses. But um no, uh not like this. This number one podcast, masses. Um but no, she was she just like She kept saying, like, take a trip by yourself and I was like, Why? Like I don't wanna do that. I could go with friends. Like, I don't wanna and I just kinda took it as like doctor's orders. Like I just sort of like I'm doing this. And I like self propelled myself to The jungles of Costa Rica.

No, but I wanted to pick somewhere that it wasn't gonna be like Honeymooners and like I wanted to pick someone that was like Ma just like I don't know, somewhere kinda remote I guess. So it was like very remote. It was in the Osa Peninsula. You had to take like the big plane, then you take the smaller plane, then you take the two hour Jeep drive. I mean I was going deep out of society.

And each time they were like it was like Barbara Paddy One. Well no. So I picked this it was like this ecology thing. So I went there and um And then it was just like a s it was so there was like these commun it wasn't like a lot of people there and it was actually really cool. Like and I did meet really cool people.

And um I met these two sisters that like at the like they were older, but they're like my age right now. But um I mean the age I am now. And they were sort of like they sort of tell me like the rudimentary Um fundamentals of what is later known as the secret. Like did you did I tell you? When I was on this trip people should know Drach knew the secret before anyone knew. So when I was and it learned it from the jungles of Costa Rica from two white ladies that were from Colorado. But anyway

So so so they like they were just weird, you know,'cause you're like chatting. And and I gotta say, like, hats off to the suggestion'cause I never would have talked to strangers if I was with friends.

Right. So I'm like having this conversation, and these women were telling me about like, you know, basically like what's the law of attraction, I guess, but they put it like You know, if you if you think on positive things, positive and if you're s if you're focusing on lack, you'll attract lack, basically.

But then it almost like the whole thing got like sealed because then we were on this like you know, you could do like nature walks or whatever and we were on this like walk on the beach like with the little like it wasn't like a group, it was like whoever's here and wants to go on this thing and um

This woman was saying like there were these like beautiful birds overhead, these like scarlet macaws, and this like way up in the sky. And this woman goes, I I want a feather to bring home for my daughter. And I swear, like twenty seconds later, from like way, way up high. This feather starts to just go bloop, bloop, blue and it falls down. We all like kinda see it like doop and it lands like right at her feet. Wow.

Amy doesn't believe in any of this stuff. Uh I do. I'm not. Okay, no, that that's cool. That's cool. But I haven't been manifesting. That was cool though. So then I was just like Sold. I'll join your cult. No. No, but then that okay, this isn't anything about Debbie Donner. This is just other stuff on that trip. But anyway, but then the Debbie Donner story is.

That when later it was like sitting at dinner like you're with randos that are there and um people just making chit chat and someone said like, Where are you from? and I said, New York and then they said like, Oh, were you there for nine eleven? And it was like three years after nine eleven. It wasn't like it just happened. It was kind of a and then I was kinda like uh yeah. And then

Like a it's kinda like just like in Debbie Down, you had to like get the conversation back'cause it was like vacation times. Right. And then like about a week later after I got home I was like out listening to some band, which isn't something I usually do, but I think that's kind of interesting because like doing something you don't usually do, and then your brain is kind of like I don't know, you're not on your usual channels I guess. Yeah. But then I just had that idea of this

kind of based on that like some like the a Debbie Danner popped into my head of like Yes. And then which this is kind of just talking creativity I found at SNL. You couldn't just go in there and like, okay, let's think of a scene. Like it had to be like moments like that. Like

And to me that only happened like once or twice a year. Which is why like you might sit there at home and be like, Why isn't there like like SNL but it's like thinking of really original characters that kind of like hit on something, it's not something you can like, steer the ship on. It like to me like it has to like vibe out with you. Yes. You have to be like you have to to your point, you have to like keep the channel open and be like find the muse and like

Find you. It just can't be like turned out. Exactly. And how do you think that's a good thing? So then I then I took it to Paula Pell, who we wrote with often and is hilarious. And everyone knows Paula now because I love Paula's like out there more in front of the camera. But um but anyway and then we were on writing night we were trying to write it. We set it in an office and it just kinda wasn't really flowing. We it just wasn't really jiving and then

we were like maybe we need to put her somewhere really happy. So then we thought of Disney World, of course, happiest place on earth. And then and then while we were writing it, like when like of course Paula was cracking me up with these one liners and everything. And then we started just going, like just for ourselves and then we're like, What if we put that in the scene with actual trauma and sound?

So then for read through we had I don't remember if we had like the live person or someone just had done it, but then at read through like it killed, but then you never know because sometimes something can kill at the table. And then when we were in dress rehearsal, Jimmy and Horatio were kinda laughing and I was thinking, like, you guys, like I feel like this could work. Like keep it together guys. And then like on air I just flubbed one of the lines.

And then I don't even know. I guess I was like so nervous. Sure. And then you're on you, but thankfully you just like Like a like the good Pisces fish. Like you just like you went along for the like i it was it's so joyous watching it because it is just the com it's like what real live TV is supposed to feel like.

Okay, well you've talked about this and I've heard talk about it and really made me laugh. Your f the first sketch you were in at S NL was when uh you, right? Yeah. Were pregnant in the butt. My character was pretty much Your character. But it was it's funny because back it up even to like my first pitch.

Because that was JB Smoove. Right. The greatest, the performer, JV Smoove. The great everything, but the best pitcher. Incredible. And he pitched this thing where you were pregnant in the butt and everyone was laughing. And I didn't know that like he's the he just does like funny pitches. Right.

And he wrote it? I think he often he often, JB, I think you often pitch stuff that maybe you weren't gonna write. Yes, you know what I mean. I always pitch stuff I wasn't gonna write. On Monday night it would be like um and you just kinda bullshit your way to get a laugh.

And then you'd be like, okay, and now I really have to buckle down. But I think because the response was so funny, JB was like, I should write I gotta write that. That's the other thing. And then you're like, I wasn't really gonna write that thing. Yeah. It was my very first sketch. Jason Lee. Jason Lee was lost. Fo Foo Fighters. Yes. Foo Fighters. Foo Foo Fighters, I did say that kind of thing. Foo Fighters.

I'm so happy that was my first sketch. That was your first sketch. And do you remember the first like I mean the first character you have so many, but do you remember the first one that was a recurring that you thought is was it Target Lady? Like where you felt like Oh, I'm gonna get to do this again. Like I have some kind of I don't know. I know. It might was it A holes with Sudakis? Might it was either A holes or target leading, yeah. I mean, for people who don't remember. Um

You know, Kristen has done so many characters. I mean, we could talk about them all day. But there was a there was Target Lady who was of course very, very excited about things getting improved and had an incredible haircut. Great wig. Incredible wig. And then another great wig and another character was A-holes, which is Sedecus, Jason Sedeikis, and you, and you guys were kind of like.

Just like the worst people to show up anywhere. Yep. Yep. Yeah. And you did a great move where you would play with your hair and chew gum. Really? There's so many funny characters that I wanna talk about, but I won't I won't embarrass you by going through them. But I've said this to you before. My favorite character is the

Thanks. That's one of my favorites. I love her. I I love her for a million reasons. I love her because the the the the way you play her is so funny. I love her wig, fantastic wig. Oh. Always in a turtleneck. Always. Well she had to hide in it. I did it. That's right. That's right. Did you did you write it was in the script that we like that we pulled it over? Yes. And when I when I say that was one of my favorites, that comes from doing it. Yeah. Like I

I like being I like being in a sketch where there's a lot of people and there are moments where everyone is looking around. Like what is going on? I love that moment. I love a cut to Kenan just Like, we gotta get out of here. Like this lady is nuts. I I was my favorite thing. That actually would be a really good way to sum up a lot of your characters. Yeah, yeah. Most of my sketches, if you go back and look, like, no, you gotta cut to people being weirded out by me.

To remind the audience that. But why I love the surprise lady so much is because it there's a lot of wig in it, I think, because she is nervous but excited and she loves a party. And she cannot wait to deliver that good news. She can't wait. And the physicality of her and the way so funny. God, I just watch clips of it all the time.

Yes. I love it so much. It's so funny and stupid. Yep. Funny and stupid. Yes. Which is the best. Which we know is the highest praise in comedy. Agree. Like the the more people go, uh Oh, that's so dumb. Yay, I did it!

For people that didn't see the the SNL fiftieth music special, which was amazing, you there was like sketches in between acts and a lot of musical sketches. And Bobby and Marty came out and crushed That was not an easy audience. It was an audience of truly every single person was either performing or a performer or like it was a cynical audience. Yeah. You guys. crushed. What was that feeling to do that that night? It was so fun, for lack of a better word. Like it was so for

there was something, you know, as you go back to these reunions and you bring all of your kind of history and baggage and whatever with you. Um Again, just kind of speaking to your point of the fact that this is all just so embarrassing. Because first of all, like it's Radio City music hall. It's six thousand seats. I mean it's it's a huge, epic space. Yeah. We followed Lauren Hill. Sure. That's who you want to follow. So you have to understand that in the wing, that's right, there are like.

Thousands of cool music people. I mean, like I w my dressing room is next to Jack White and his band, and I'm dressed as Bobby Mohan Culp. Okay. I've got the giant glasses and my like striped dress and Will's got his bald paint and his you know We we're rehearsing in the keyboard, so Already we're like the losers in the wing. Do you know what I mean? I mean the winners for me, but yes it was

I mean actually you're like you've got the violin and you've got the eye patch. One hundred percent. And so we're already just like, what is happening? What is happening? Why are we here? And who invited us? You know? And then we just started to giggle because we We it was so cute'cause we doing the sketch and doing the like it we just it was very easy to imagine how excited Bobby and Marty would have been the people would have been to be at Radio City. And what was it like back?

What was it like that said you see Jack White? Who else are you? I mean mayhem, like possees and people with like you know, music people. So they got like Yeah, they're so cool. Big cool hair and glasses and fur like Lauren Hill's a fur coat and an afro and like everybody's got like Like floral pants that come up to here and there's possies and you know, weed everywhere. You know, Chris Martin's in the corner, like cool people. Cool. Actual cool people who

Just looked right past us. Like they didn't they will they did not know that we used to be on Saturday Night Live. They were just like, who brought Granny and Gramps? Like just right past us. That actually probably was fun. It was so fun. That's fun. And then going, then we like.

You know, going out there and that all that stuff just suddenly works. You're right. Now that I'm remembering, Lauren Hill had a surprise incredible performance. Insane. And then there's like smoke. And it was like and then it was like fantastic. Test, test. And you guys crush and that's what I mean as well. I mean, it was really funny because we were like they just and all of their stuff was about how they'd come to New York for an ophthalmology appointment.

And you know, it did say we're just lucky to slip in and it just everything about it was so fun. And so we're sitting there and uh yeah, and I I did have the feeling I was like, this is streaming because one thing about SNL for me, again, I don't know if you've ever had this, but it's a little bit of an a student girl, you know, nerd girl thing. I was always My greatest regret about the story of

show, not that you would go back in time, is that I couldn't I never like settled into it and enjoyed it. Cause I was always so aware of the time and of running somebody running down the clock. Somebody else's sketch is gonna get cut. Like I was always and when we were there, it was such a

you know, s like explosive surfate of of talent that there were always three sketches a night that might not make it. You know? Yeah. So I always felt like I had to like keep it moving, keep it moving. So I was suddenly very aware that it was streaming. And that I was not gonna be rushed. And I was like, I'm gonna be Bobby Mo. The funniest thing in the world to me is this woman and this man, these these choir teachers getting people to settle.

'Cause there's just nothing funnier. So that's just they just kept telling people to settle. I need you to settle. I need quiet in the back. Hand goes up, mouth goes shut. Hand goes up, mouth goes shut. Just this idea I was just like, I'm gonna keep going until they settle. I'm not gonna worry about it. And if I had been at eight H, we never would have done that. Right. Very good. But we just we took a full probably forty five seconds to, you know, get people to pipe it.

David Spade piped down. That's right. You guys called him out. I don't want to hear it, Pierce Brosnan. So stupid. You've been listening to The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weisberg, and the President. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya. And Alea Zaniris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green. Joel Lovell and Jenna Weiss Burman. Original music by Amy.